Ensign Saavei - Fascinating

[Tara W]

((Transporter Room 1 - USS Kepler))

Another version of Starfleet. A legacy left behind of Voyager's trip through this portion of the galaxy. Saavei imagined the FDC often had its attention occupied either reinforcing the good will, or undoing the damage, caused by Captain Janeway on her journey home. It was certainly a story many of her fellow cadets in the Academy had found inspirational, though her Federation Law and Ethics classes had raised a number of issues. Some of her peers had called it 'Monday Morning Backquartering" or some such, a term she took to mean reviewing Janeway's actions in hindsight without the benefit of advanced knowledge. While Saavei could understand that viewpoint, she thought it was illogical to ignore the problems created then in favor of justifying it with a simple explanation of 'desperate times call for desperate measures'. Hero worship was illogical and she possessed none for Janeway, which had caused more than one debate (some more 'spirited' than others). The Vulcan didn't buy into the philosophy that the end justifies the means. The Federation certainly wasn't built upon such as one of its guiding principles. How one reached the goal mattered as much as the goal itself, perhaps more. Captain Janeway had been thrust into an unexpected situation and her crew's survival, and intact return, was certainly worthy of acknowledgement. She simply dismissed the notion of hand-waving away the more troubling aspects that had happened during that voyage. As she was a Cadet at the time, no one but her teachers and a few peers had cared for her opinion on anything, but Saavei would have no doubt found listening to some of the non-public conversations fascinating.

She was waiting with Commander Iko, who was wearing the red uniform of the command division, and appeared... Saavei was unsure precisely what emotion it was the Commander was expressing. She didn't seem particularly enthused about the current situation, or some aspects of it at least, and there wasn't time or the personal familiarity to inquire. The idea of a plague or biological issue was concerning. Saavei recalled reading about Voyager's bio-neural gel packs suffering a similar issue at one point, from her Engineering classes, and she'd downloaded the mission logs from that incident onto the PADD in her engineering kit, which was held in her left hand. Her EVA suit was on and... well, not comfortable but not insufferable either. 

Commander Taelon came in to join them, ARIA floating behind him. It was agreeable to see him again, since their last adventure in Underspace.

Iko: Shorty?

Taelon: My apologies, I - I was making sure…::He trailed off, and shook his head as if to clear it.:: Nevermind. I’m ready to go, Commander.

Bec nodded, and looked between herself, Taelon and Saavei.

oO Shorty? Oo A curious nickname for the tall officer. A play on words, perhaps. Saavei hadn't had a chance to learn about Commander Iko's brand of humor yet. Taelon ran a hand over his head, causing his hair to stand at erratic angles. He seemed nervous but Saavei was unsure whether to pay it much heed; Commander Taelon often seemed nervous when she observed him.

Saavei: I am ready, Commander. ::To Bec::

Taelon: We’ll be meeting their representative on the other side, then?

Iko: Yes. Their chief engineer. Ko'Lforta I think Robin said that the captain had said their name was.

Saavei: I am curious to see how they have designed their systems. I was not able to view any data from scans before joining you both here.

Taelon was looking at the transporters with uncertainty, as Commander Iko offered him a suitably-sized EVA suit.

Taelon: Any…last minute things to note, Commander? Before we’re in mixed company…?

Iko: Just because they’re trying to emulate the Federation doesn’t mean they might not be a threat. We’re helping them but we’re also there to see whether they could or would hurt us.

Saavei looked to Commander Iko and nodded. A safety assessment was wise, and expected coming from Amity's head of security/tactical. As for whether the UWA could or would harm them, the first seemed obvious. They were a spacefaring culture with warp technology and surely there were weapons on board their vessel. From a strictly pragmatic sense, the UWA 'could' cause harm if it saw a need to. As for 'would', Saavei felt that was more nuanced. One could infer the modeling of their society after Voyager could include its ideals but there was no proof of that, as yet. She believed the FDC would call it 'common ground' for a beginning of relationships. Few cultures, even ones such as the Vidiians, saw themselves as 'bad'. Trying to emulate the Federation would provide more introductions to conversation than if they had modeled their society after the Klingon or Romulan Empires.

Saavei: I am confident an analysis can be obtained. 

Taelon: Response

Bec stepped onto one of the Kelper’s transporter pads. She looked at the others to do the same. Saavei stepped onto one of the adjoining pads, ready for transport.

Taelon: Response

The acting FO gave a nod to the Kelper’s transporter chief.

Iko: Energise.

Saavei's vision became a blue whirring as she dematerialized...

-----

((Main Engineering, UAW Enterprise – en route to United Alliance of Worlds Territory))

... and rematerialized in Main Engineering aboard the UAW Enterprise. She looked around at the state of its current repairs and wondered if the ship had been in battle, or was simply failing from the damage it was suffering. While Saavei was confident in her skills of repair, bio-neural gel packs were a blend of mechanical and organic. A doctor accompanying them would have aided in diagnosis and she would have to be sure to consult with Lieutenant Wong later about any discoveries he'd made as to the viral or bacterial infection impacting the ship. Perhaps it would be best to wait until more analysis had been done about those before attempting to repair them. Otherwise adding new packs with sick ones would only contaminate the clean supplies.

Then one of the officers approached them, a curious species. Ko'Lforta's uniform wasn't dissimiliar to Saavei's and the color matched. The alien was broad and had prominent spines, with the unmistakable shapes of gills in their neck. Amphibious then, or vestigial? She observed they'd been left uncovered, which could mean they functioned, but could also have been a social or cultural norm. She was looking forward to learning more about this species which comprised the UAW and its Astrofleet.

Ko'Lforta: Welcome aboard, I am Lieutenant Ko’Lforta. Senior engineer.

Bec gave them a nod in greeting. Lieutenant Ko'LForta extended a teal and white webbed hand to perform handshakes, 

Iko: My name is Commander Iko. ::gesturing to both:: This is Ensign Saavei, Engineering, and Commander Taelon, Science.

Ko'Lforta:  It is nice to meet you all. Sorry about the mess. We were hoping to have things in more order before you arrived.

Saavei heard the UAW Lieutenant give a laugh, which sounded nervous to her, which meant the universal translator was working and that some similar cultural norms were already manifesting. Perhaps she could use that to help build more of a rapport with their hosts.

Saavei: Do not be troubled about the aesthetic, Lieutenant. Ship repairs are often chaotic before completion.

Taelon: Response

Iko: We’re here to assist with repairs however we can. Where would you like us to start?

Ko'Lforta: Right! Well, there is a lot to do. ::She took a deep breath:: We are having issues with the antimatter regulators, so we are unable to go above warp 5 safely. We are having to re-engineer our torpedo tubes, the photons the Terrelians made were too large, so we are trying to expand the tubes. Our power system has been having random spikes that are causing overloads all over the ship. And finally with the bio-neural gel packs, we have been rerouting essential systems to the back up isolinear circuitry which was not built for the extended period of constant stress.

oO The photons the Terrelians made were too large for the tubes... Oo Saavei found that curious. If the UAW was concerned about defensive weaponry, leaving the spacedock without functioning torpedoes seemed impulsive. The Vulcan was sure that it would grab Commander Iko's attention, as well. She would like to inspect their weapons systems, but as the Kepler was towing the Enterprise, Saavei was dubious of re-arming the UWA until they understood their new acquaintances better. Antimatter regulators were more pressing, as those could also influence how much power the ship could draw from the warp core. Random spikes overloading systems across the vessel seemed more of a 'address this now' matter. Then there was the bio-neural packs... rerouting was standard procedures but Saavei could definitely see older isolinear systems having difficulty coping with the added informational demands with the packs out of order.

Saavei: These obstacles will not prove insurmountable. 

Taelon/Iko: Response

Ko’Lforta: Well if we are going into the maintenance tubes, or working near the bio-neural gel-packs we need to be wearing biohazard suits with the infection that is now spreading around. If you are not interested in that we can look into our power system issues or the antimatter regulators?

Saavei: It may be more efficient to wait until the infection is better understood before we address the gel packs. Do you have a comprehensive readout of the different issues and any schematic diagrams which would be of use?

Taelon/Iko: Response

Ko’Lforta: If you want to look at our current list of repairs, please do. I would really appreciate any insight you have. We have had everyone pulling double shifts to get fixed.

Nuti offered her computer tablet to the three of them. Saavei accepted the offered tablet, standing so Taelon and Bec could see as well if they liked. Her eyes scanned the list of pending repairs, which appeared to have already been triaged in a sensible order. She looked back up to Nuti after a moment.

Saavei: Would it be permissible to create a copy of this list and available diagrams on my PADD, Lieutenant?

Taelon/Iko: Response

Saavei knew there was a larger information gathering angle at play here, as they sought to learn more about the UAW. In her experience, the best way to learn about another culture's technology was to roll one's sleeves up, crawl into a hatch, and get to work. She wondered if it was safe to remove the EVA suit, so long as they avoided the gel packs, but as the infection had also been spreading to crew, she was unsure the answer would be in the affirmative. Looking to Ko'LForta, she gave a nod.

Saavei: I believe the overloads, then regulators, should be addressed first. Do you concur, Lieutenant?

It was, after all, the Senior Engineer's ship and Saavei didn't wish to step on... did this species have toes? Step on their walking digits.

Taelon/Iko/Ko'LForta: Response

They had a direction to work on, at least. Saavei reasoned it would give them a chance to see more of the interior, the layout, and understand more about the UAW. She clipped her engineering kit to her EVA suit's harness, sliding her PADD out before closing said kit again. While it powered up, she decided to investigate further.

Saavei: ::To Ko'LForta:: The name 'Enterprise' is a storied one among Starfleet. How have you found serving aboard your own Enterprise to be?

Taelon/Iko/Ko'LForta: Response

Saavei inclined her head with interest.

Saavei: Were you able to participate in its construction?

Taelon/Iko/Ko'LForta: Response

--

Ensign Saavei

Engineering Team

Amity Outpost

A240208S13